WHEN George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, he was flanked by Ted Kennedy, who had shepherded the legislation through the Senate, and John Boehner, then the head of the House education committee. On December 9th the Senate voted overwhelmingly to replace that law. The House has already passed something similar, and the president is likely to sign a modified version. This new bill, too, has support from both parties. But this time it stems from a shared hatred of Mr Bush’s law.
The federal government’s role in running America’s public schools has grown from that of a glorified think-tank, charged with scouring for information to help states build better school systems in the 19th century. When the second world war put military installations, and the children that came with them, in states with thin tax receipts, the federal government stepped in to make up the shortfall. When the federal government moved to end racial segregation in schools in the 1960s, the Department of Education was once again given added responsibility. The traffic has been one-way ever since, even though the federal government provides only 10% of...Continue reading
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